A statement said he "looks forward to meeting" Gen Than Shwe, who heads the military council that runs the government.

Burma has seen almost two weeks of sustained popular unrest.

But the number of protesters on the streets is now much smaller than at the height of the rallies, and the Buddhist monks who led the initial protests are now being prevented from leaving their monasteries.

Witnesses say one person was shot dead overnight when the military raided a monastery in Rangoon, detaining around 60 monks.

A woman told the BBC people got angry after seeing monks being thrown into a truck.

Mr Gambari is looking for a political solution to the crisis

"One young man got up and shouted - they shot him. His wife came running after him - they slapped her. They took the body away and drove away," she said.

UK Ambassador Mark Canning told the BBC there were around 15,000 troops in Rangoon, and there had been no reports of further protests there on Sunday.

"They've managed to stamp a picture of normality, but only with a heavy military presence," he said.

A correspondent in Rangoon - who must remain anonymous for her own safety - said people were too scared to do anything with so many military around after seeing them shooting women, children and monks.

But she said people assured her that the demonstrations would continue.

Rare criticism

The government says 10 people were killed last week in the suppression of the opposition protests.